Press/Reviews Some links below will take you to another website and will open in a new window. Boundless Track Terre Haute native making way to top with extensive talents The summer of 1980 gave John England his "ah-ha" moment. On two trips to the old Towne South Cinemas in Terre Haute, England watched "Honeysuckle Rose" and "The Blues Brothers." Those starkly different movies held one common thread that hooked... Read more. Mark Bennett Tribune-Star Praise for "Open that Gate" I LOVE your new CD!  I played cut #9 ten times in a row! Every cut a jewel. Barbara Martin Western Swing Monthly ...one of the freshest, most engaging records to come out of present-day Nashville.  The new songs are very well written ... it's hard to tell the originals from the classics. Cowboy Anton "Music City USA", WRVU Nashville LOVE the new CD!  My favorite one of the three. Mary McKinney If this record is any indication as to what they are like live, everyone else may as well just hang it up! Scott Sexton W/ CountryMusicReport.Com It is great. Mathias Andrieu "Keep it Country!", NSEO 95.2 FM Paris, France Some great songs... something to be proud of, indeed. Graham Lees "The Western Hour", HWD Radio, Great Britain ...vocals and tight songwriting come across every bit as smooth and polished as anything in the Wills brothers’ catalog, and the instrumental arrangements expertly recreate an era when Western Swing was new, exciting and leading country music into some of its greatest and most expansive years. Don Chance Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX CRI DU COEUR (top grade) Bernard Boyat "le Cri du Coyote", Paris, France The best I've heard in long, long time. Randy Stillwell "Randy Ray on the Radio" KACT FM, Andrews Texas John England and His Western Swingers nail that Western Swing sound by combining a carefree attitude with solid arranging and stellar playing! Dave Chamberlain "Sagebrush Boogie” WRFG FM, Atlanta, GA New album Open That Gate has many things to recommend it, including England's splendid country-and-jazz guitar playing on "The Closer I Get" and Neil Stretcher's rollicking piano on Wills's "Bring It On Down." Frank-John Hadley Longtime DownBeat critic Praise for "Thanks a Lot" A great recording—my nominee for "Best CD of 2004". Hearing swing arrangements of these classic songs gives them new life. This disc hasn't left my changer since I received it last week. Paul W. Dennis  This is a great CD, great music and great vocals! Paul Johansen Radio Sotra, Norway The Western Swingers sophomore effort is a brilliant tribute to a country legend with their own brand of multi-layered, consummate musicianship. Laura Joulie Take Country Back As their name suggests, John England & The Western Swingers play unadulterated Western swing that harks back to an era when taste and restraint were considered virtues. England's a great guitarist with a voice as smooth as silk, and the band is superb, featuring players who've worked with Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard. Jack Silverman Nashville Scene One of the best Western Swing Bands in America today and I love what they have done with the Ernest Tubb songs. This is my favorite CD that I play on the radio right now and it gets played at least five times a week. Keep swingin' fellows. You are carrying on the show. Dugg Collins AM 1070 THE RANCH/KFTI, Wichita, Kansas "a pick-me-uppin' bucket of fiddle-happy swing"  Nicole Keiper Nashville Tennessean To make it short and sweet—this is one heck of an album. Western Swing in the purest form. Great musicians, a bunch of great songs and the train is moving on down the track. Swing It Boys! Lars G Lindberg Radio Siljan, Sweden This is a follow-up album to a former Western Swing album of the year, and John England and the Western Swingers might have done it again. I cannot find one thing about this CD that I don't like. The arrangements are great, the vocals are super and the instrumentation is dynamite. Mike Gross Swingin’ West A richly textured and inviting fusion of Honky Tonk and Western Swing that lights up the room from the very first note…a reminder of the wonderful legacy that Ernest Tubb left us, don't miss-out on this simply spellbinding collection!!! Graham Lees The Country Connection, Great Britain Oh, what an album! Excellent western-swing CD, one of the best albums I listened to this year!! Great covers, great vocals, great sound.... Bob Wills would be proud of this one!!! Alain Joris Radio Columbia, Belgium This is the kind of music that makes you smile and reach for the repeat button while your feet keep on tapping the floor. The album starts with the best recording I ever heard of the classic "Thanks A Lot", and goes on and on in the swingin' style. Not a bad track here and very great vocals and backing! Kjell Horlin MCWC Radio, Sweden Praise for "Swinging Broadway" "Swinging Broadway is an album to be included in any country music fan's collection. It's a tribute to the days when fun, personality and showmanship stood proud in country music." Read more. from: Take Country Back, Laurie Joulie May, 2003 "Review: Singing Broadway" "Pedal steel man Tommy Hannum is deft and clever. England plays guitar with a jazz man's training, comping through chords in a style pioneered by Wills alum Eldon Shamblin and playing fine, three-part melodic leads with the fiddle and steel." Read more. from: Tennessean February 1, 2003 "Western Swing's the thing" "It's a fine, fine record, and they're a fine, fine band." Read more. from: Tennessean January 27, 2003 "They'll be swinging on Lower Broadway tonight" "John England and the Western Swingers. A straightforward name for a straightforward band who serve up good-time Western swing without the irony or tongues in cheeks. England and his posse have become staples on the Lower Broadway scene..." Read more. from: Nashville Scene January 27, 2003 "Critic's Picks" "If you're a Western swing or traditional country fan (or even a rockabilly cat accustomed to prowling Lower Broad, looking for a beer and a fight), you already know England and his Grade A lineup of musicians from their appearances down at Robert's Western World. If you're not familiar with them, Swinging Broadway is a very good introduction..." Read more. from: The Rage January 23, 2003 CD Review "John England and the Western Swingers" "Nashville, TN is the world of country music. However, therein are some fantastic musicians that love to play Western Swing. Six of these musicians make up John England and the Western Swingers..." Read more. from "Swingin' West" January 21, 2003 Album Review "John England and the Western Swingers" "England and his crew of excellent musicians have finally released an album that captures the sweet singing, easy swinging, and fine pickin' of their regular Monday night shows at Robert's Western World." Read more. from: Tennessean January 11, 2003 "Western Swingers play Lower Broad" "Swinging Broadway is a hot, well-recorded collection..." Read more. from: Tennessean January 6, 2003 "Grab your boots and scoot over to Roberts"